Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide B

Ben Creisler

Bactrosaurus Gilmore 1933 "club (spined) lizard"

BAK-tro-SAWR-us (Gr. baktron "rod, staff, club" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) Gilmore explains: "The vertebrae of the posterior half of the [backbone] are characterized by high massive club-shaped spines, and it is to this feature that the generic name refers." The name Bactrosaurus is often misinterpreted as "Bactrian lizard." However, ancient Bactria was in southwest Asia, far from Chinese Inner Mongolia where the original fossil was found. Gilmore incorrectly associated a flat-headed hadrosaur skull (now identified as belonging to Gilmoreosaurus) with a lambeosaur body, resulting in a supposed non-crested form of lambeosaur. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Lambeosaurinae L. Cret. CAs.

Bagaceratops Maryanska & Osmolska 1975 "small horned face"

BAH-gah-SER-a-tops (Mongolian baga "small" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face")* (m) named for its size: "probably smaller in size than other protoceratopsids." Ceratopsia Protoceratopidae L. Cret. Mong.

Bagaraatan Osmolska 1996 "little predator"

BAH-gah-RAH-tahn (from Mongolian baga "little" + araatan "predator, wild beast") (m) named to indicate a rather small tetanuran theropod (3 m. long) from the Nemegt of southern Mongolia. Theropoda Tetanurae L. Cret. CAs. (Mongolia)

Bahariasaurus Stromer 1934 "Baharija (Egypt) lizard"

bah-hah-REE-ya-SAWR-us (Baharija + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the Baharija Formation, where the fossil was found in northern Egypt. Theropoda Carnosauria i.s. L. Cret. NAf.

Bambiraptor Burnham, Derstler, Currie, Bakker, Zhou & Ostrom 2000 "Bambi robber"

BAM-bee-RAP-tor (Bambi (fictional baby deer) + Lat. raptor "robber") (m) from the widely used nickname "Bambi" given the holotype specimen of a "raptor" (dromaeosaur) theropod by the Linster family, who found the fossil; referring to the animal's small size (after the baby deer named Bambi in children's literature, best known from a 1942 Disney animated cartoon). Bambiraptor is known from a nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile (75% adult size) (Holotype: FIP 001 (Florida Institute of Paleontology, Graves Museum, Dania Beach, Florida)) found in 1993 in the Two Medicine Formation near Byrum, Montana by Wes Linster, then 14 years old; scattered bones apparently belonging to at least 2 adult individuals of Bambiraptor were also found in the same deposit. Bambiraptor represents the most birdlike dromaeosaurid found to date, showing many resemblances to Archaeopteryx, including extremely long forelimbs that could move and fold like bird wings, as well as birdlike shoulders, a large sternum and a well-developed furcula (wishbone)--if the animal had large feathers along its arms in life, it is possible, but not certain, that it may have had rudimentary flying abilities. The type specimen is about twice as large as Archaeopteryx, making the animal an estimated 1 m (3 ft) long in life, weighing about 7 pounds. The skull of Bambiraptor is proportionately larger than in Archaeopteryx, lightly built with large openings and an inflated braincase. The feet have large slashing claws on the second toe, typical of dromaeosaurs. The tail is incomplete, but is stiffened by thin overlapping bony rods as in other dromaeosaurids; it was preserved with a distinct upward curve (possibly an artifact of preservation). The first chevron under the tail is long and slender, similar to that found in male crocodiles, suggesting the type specimen of Bambiraptor may be a juvenile male.

Type Species: Bambiraptor feinbergorum [fien-buhr-GOH-ruhm] Burnham, Derstler, Currie, Bakker, Zhou & Ostrom 2000: "honoring Michael and Feinberg, who recognized the significance of this fossil and have generously encouraged our research and preservation of this fossil for science." The species name was originally spelled "feinbergi," but the rules of nomenclature in the ICZN Code (4th Edition) require that the spelling be emended to use the Latin genitive plural ending -orum because the name honors more than one person.

Theropoda Maniraptora Dromaeosauridae Late Cretaceous (Campanian)NA [added 5/2000]

Barapasaurus Jain, Kutty, Roy-Chowdhury & Chatterjee 1975 "big leg lizard"

buh-RAH-pah-SAWR-us (from bara "big" and pa "leg" in several Indian languages + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) "The name was invented for easy reference to the new dinosaur when a femur over 1.7 m. long was exposed during the early stages of the excavation in 1961." Sauropoda Barapasauridae E. Jur. India

Barsboldia Maryanska & Osmolska 1981 "for R. Barsbold"

bahrs-BOHL-dee-a (Barsbold + -ia) (f) named to honor Rinchen Barsbold, noted Mongolian paleontologist. Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Lambeosaurinae L. Cret. CAs. (Mongolia)

Barosaurus Marsh 1890 "heavy lizard"

BAR-o-SAWR-us (Gr. barys "heavy + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named for its large size. Sauropoda Diplodocidae L. Jur. NA.

Baryonyx Charig & Milner 1986 "heavy claw"

BAR-ee-ON-iks (t.L.m.: ba-RIE-on-iks) (Gr. barys "heavy, strong" + Gr. onyx "talon, claw")* (m) named for enormous claws, first thought to be on the feet (implying a gigantic Tyrannosaurus-like animal, nicknamed "Claws"), but now known to be on the manus and probably used in fishing. Theropoda Spinosauria Baronychidae E. Cret. Eur.

Becklespinax Olshevsky 1991 "Beckles's 'spinax'"

BEK-el-SPIEN-aks (Beckles + "spinax" by analogy with Altispinax von Huene) (m) to honor Samuel Husband Beckles (--1890), who found the original specimen; proposed of high-spined "Megalosaurus" vertebrae later named Altispinax by von Huene, but no longer included under von Huene's genus name. (See Altispinax). Theropoda Carnosauria i.s. E. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]

Beipiaosaurus Xu, Tang & Wang 1999 "Beipiao (China) lizard"

bay-pyow-SAWR-us (Beipiao + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named to indicate a dinosaur found near the city of Beipiao, in the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. Beipiaosaurus is known from an incomplete skeleton (vertebrae, parts of the front and back limbs, with hands and feet, plus a lower jaw (dentary bone) with teeth) (Holotype: IVPP V11559 (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing)). The remains come from ancient lake beds in Liaoning famous for fossils of birds and small dinosaurs preserved with traces of soft tissue--the Beiopiaosaurus material includes impressions of feather-like filaments (between 50mm and 70mm long) near the legs, arms and shoulders. The shape of the lower jaw closely resembles that of therizinosaurs (segnosaurs), a still poorly understood group of dinosaurs that appear to be plant-eating theropods. Beipiaosaurus differs from known therizinosaurs in a number of features, most notably a proportionately larger skull, shorter and more bulbous tooth crowns, feet with three rather than four large toes, a longer hand, an ilium similar to that of dromaeosaurs in shape, a crest on the tibia, and compressed metatarsals. The authors conclude that Beipiaosaurus is a basal (primitive) therizinosaur, retaining some primitive theropod characters as well as others found in coelurosaurs. They classify Beipiaosaurus as a member of the Coelurosauria that is closer to the Oviraptorosauria than are other members of the Therizinosauroidea such as Alxasaurus or the more derived family Therizinosauridae. Estimated 2.2 meters (7.3 ft) long.

Type Species: Beipiaosaurus inexpectus [in-ek-SPEK-tuhs] Xu, Tang & Wang 1999 "unexpected": "referring to the surprising features of the animal." Theropoda Coelurosauria Therizinosauroidea Early Cretaceous(?) China [added 6/99]

Bellusaurus Dong 1990 "fine lizard" [qiaolong]

BEL-uh-SAWR-us (Lat. bellus "beautiful, fine" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) alluding to the "fine" quality of the specimens of this small sauropod, including many nearly complete skeletons, apparently of juveniles, unearthed in Sichuan Province, China. Sauropoda Cetiosauridae M. Jur. China

Betasuchus von Huene 1932 "'b' crocodile"

BAYT-o-SOOK-us (Gr. beta, second letter of the Greek alphabet + Gr. soukhos "crocodile") (m) named based on von Huene's designation of a specimen of "Megalosaurus bredai" as "Ornithomimidorum genus b" ("genus b of the ornithomimid family") before it was formally renamed. Theropoda i.s. L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]

Bienosaurus Dong 2001 "Bien's lizard"

BYEN-o-SAWR-us ((M. N.) Bien + Gr. sauros "lizard")(m) named to honor the Chinese geologist and paleontologist Mei Nien Bien [Bian Meinian] "who collected the holotype" while working in Yunnan Province between 1938 and 1939 (Bien later moved to the United States). Bienosaurus is a small scelidosaur based on a nearly complete right lower jaw and skull fragments (Holotype: IVPP V 9612 (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing)), found in the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian) Dark Red Beds in the Lower Lufeng Formation, Lufeng Basin, Yunnan Province, China. The teeth show characteristics of both ankylosaurs and stegosaurs; the dentary is thick with a strongly curved tooth row. Small bony scutes are fused to the frontal and supraorbital bones. The skull was probably around 65-70 mm (2.5-2.8 in) long, suggesting a total body length of around 1 meter (40 in).

Type Species: Bienosaurus lufengensis [loo-fuhng-EN-sis] Dong 2001: for the Lufeng Basin, where the specimen was found in Yunnan Province, China. Note that early media reports in November, 2000 indicated that the type species name for Bienosaurus would be "crichtonii" to honor Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park. Dong does not indicate why he decided to change the official type species name to "lufengensis" instead. Thyreophora Scelidosauridae Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian) China

Bihariosaurus Marinescu 1989 "Bihor (Romania) lizard"

bi-HAHR-ee-o-SAWR-us (Biharium, Latin name for modern Bihor in Romania + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the Bihor County region of the Carpathean Mountains, Romania, where the fossils were found. Ornithopoda Iguanodontidae L. Jur. Eur.

Blikanasaurus Galton & van Heerden 1985 "Blikana (South Africa) dinosaur"*

bli-KAHN-a-SAWR-us (Blikana, mountain in South Africa + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) "Since 1965 the holotype specimen has been known as the 'Blikana dinosaur' after the locality where it was found"--1.6 km northeast of the Blikana Trading Store, Herschel District, Transkei, near Mount Blikana in South Africa. Prosauropoda Blikanasauridae L. Trias. SAf.

Borogovia Osmolska 1987 "borogove"

bor-o-GOH-vee-a (borogove + -ia) (f) named for Lewis Carroll's imaginary creatures, "the borogoves," mentioned in the "Jabberwocky," a poem from Through the Looking Glass: "All mimsy were the borogoves..." Theropoda Coelurosauria Troodontidae L. Cret. Mongolia

Bothriospondylus Owen 1875 "furrowed vertebrae"

BOTH-ree-o-SPON-di-lus (Gr. bothrion "little ditch, trench, furrow" + Gr. spondylos "vertebra") (m) named for "the flattened form and lateral cavities characteristic of the sacral vertebrae." Sauropoda Brachiosauridae L. Jur. Eur. & Madagascar

Brachiosaurus Riggs 1903 "arm lizard"

BRAK-ee-o-SAWR-us (Gr. brachion "arm" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the "unusually long humerus of the specimen," longer than the femur, resulting in a giraffe-like posture. Sauropoda Brachiosauridae L. Jur. and E. Cret. NA. Eur. Afr.

Brachyceratops Gilmore 1914 "short horned face"

BRAK-i-SER-a-tops (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face") (m) alluding to "the greatly abbreviated facial portion of the skull." Ceratopsia Ceratopidae Centrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.

Brachylophosaurus C. M. Sternberg 1953 "short-crested lizard"

BRAK-i-LOF-o-SAWR-us (t.L.m.: bra-KIL-o-fo-SAWR-us) (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. lophos "crest" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the shape of the projecting solid crest on its skull: "the crest differs from that of Saurolophus in being broader, more uniform in breadth, thinner and shorter..." Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae L. Cret. NA.

Brachypodosaurus Chakrvarti 1934 "short-legged lizard"

bra-KIP-o-do-SAWR-us (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. pod- (pous) "foot" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) named for the short length of the humerus. Ankylosauria i.s. L. Cret. Ind. [nomen dubium]

Brachyrophus Cope 1878 "short-roofed (vertebrae)"

bra-KIHR-o-fus (Gr. brachys "short" + Gr. orophe "roof, ridgepole [dorsal vertebrae]" + -us) (m) probably named for the remarkable "shortness of the pit-like facet for the attachment of the neuropophysis" on the dorsal vertebrae. Ornithopoda L. Jur. NA [nomen dubium (= ?Camptosaurus)]

Bradycneme Harrison & Walker 1975 "heavy leg"

BRAD-ik-NEE-mee (Gr. bradys "slow, heavy, massive" + Gr. kneme "shinbone, lower leg")* (f) named for the large size of its tibiotarsus. Originally identified as a giant owl. Theropoda Coelurosauria Troodontidae L. Cret. Eur. [nomen dubium]

Breviceratops Zurzanof 1990 "short horned face"

BREV-i-SER-a-tops (Lat. brevis "short" + Gr. kerat- (keras) "horn" + Gr. ops "face") (m) referring to its shortened snout and short, flattish horn. Ceratopsia Protoceratopidae L. Cret. CAs.

Brontosaurus Marsh 1879 "thunder lizard"

BRON-to-SAWR-us (Gr. bronte "thunder" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) named for its great size and powerful build ("one of the largest reptiles yet discovered"), similar in meaning to Marsh's earlier mammal name Brontotherium "thunder beast" (1873). Brontes was also the name of a giant in Greek mythology. Contrary to a common explanation for the name, Marsh did not indicate that his "thunder lizard" was supposed to make a sound like thunder when it walked. He recognized that his Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were closely related taxa, but distinguished the two forms primarily based on the number of fused vertebrae in the sacrum of the type specimens (three in Apatosaurus ajax, five in Brontosaurus excelsus), a feature now known to reflect the age of individuals. Elmer Riggs could not find sufficient grounds for treating both as separate genera, and made the well-known name Brontosaurus a junior synonyn of Apatosaurus in 1903. Surprisingly, though, Riggs also thought that the type species itself could not be identified in an adult form: "Apatosaurus ajax is based upon a specimen too young to admit of specific determination"--a situation, which, arguably, could have been grounds for treating the name Apatosaurus as a nomen dubium and using Brontosaurus instead. Modern authorities consider Apatosaurus ajax diagnosable, however. The nomenclatural issues surrounding the name are unrelated to Marsh's mistaken choice of a Camarasaurus skull for his reconstruction of "Brontosaurus." [= Apatosaurus]

Bruhathkayosaurus Yadagiri & Ayyasami, 1987 "heavy-bodied lizard"

brih-HUHT-kah-yo-SAWR-us (Sanskrit bruhathkaya "heavy-bodied" + Gr. sauros "lizard") (m) referring to its huge size, with a supposed tibia measuring two meters in length. Originally identified as a monstrous theropod, most of the remains belong to a large sauropod (probably Titanosaurus). Titanosauridae L. Cret. India [nomen dubium (?Titanosaurus)]

Bugenasaura Galton 1995 "large cheek lizard"

BOO-jen-a-SAWR-a (Lat. bu- (Gr. bou-) "huge" + Lat. gena "cheek" + Gr. saura "lizard")* (f) named as "an allusion to the massive ridges on the maxilla and dentary for the attachment of a structure functionally analogous to the cheeks of mammals"; for a skull originally attributed to Thescelosaurus. Ornithopoda Hypsilophodontidae L. Cret. NA.

Bullatosauria Holz 1994 "inflated lizards"

buh-LAY-to-SAWR-ee-a or (buh-LAH-to-SAWR-ee-a (Lat. bullatus "inflated" (bulla "hollow swelling"+ -atus "having, provided with") + Gr. sauros "lizard" + -ia) (n) named in reference to the bulbous parasphenoid capsule in the skull, which is a common shared derived feature in the Troodontidae and Ornithomimosauria. Osmolska et al. (1972) used the specific name bullatus for Gallimimus, and noted that the term originally meant "wearing the bulla," a golden capsule worn around the neck of noble Roman youths. For a clade including the most recent common ancestor of Ornithomimus and Troodon and all descendants of that common ancestor. [clade]

Byronosaurus "Byron's lizard" Norell, Makovicky & Clark 2000

BIE-ruh-no-SAWR-us (Bryon + Gr. sauros "lizard")(m)named to honor Byron Jaffe "in recognition of his family's support for the Mongolian Academy of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History Paleontological Expeditions." Byronosaurus is a troodontid theropod known from a fragmentary skull and postcranial bones (Holotype: IGM 100/983 (Institute of Geology, Mongolia)), collected in 1993 at Ukhaa Tolgod, Gobi Desert, southern Mongolia; a second specimen referred to Byronosaurus was found 5 miles away at Bolor's Hill in 1996. The long slender type skull is the best preserved troodontid skull found to date, and is estimated to have been around 20 cm (8 in) long when complete. Similar to birds, Byronosaurus has a chamber in the snout where air enters from the nostrils before passing through to the mouth, with a connection between the nasal passage and the antorbital fenestra through the interfenestral bar; a secondary bony palate on the roof of the mouth is formed "by extensive palatal shelves that meet the vomer on the midline." The unserrated teeth closely resemble those of Archaeopteryx in form, with a constriction between the root and the base of the crown. As in other troodontids, numerous relatively small, tightly packed teeth line the anterior portion of the jaws, followed by larger, more widely spaced posterior teeth, with the posteriormost teeth along the jaws being tiny. Byronosaurus was a lightly built, agile predator, probably around 1.5 m (5 ft) long in life.

Type Species: Byronosaurus jaffei [JAF-ee-ie] Norell, Makovicky & Clark 2000: for Byron Jaffe "in recognition of his family's support for the Mongolian Academy of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History Paleontological Expeditions."

Theropoda Tetanurae Maniraptora Troodontidae Late Cretaceous (Senonian) Mongolia [added 5/2000]